Ukraine on Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

Ukraine says pro-Russian separatists attacked a convoy of civilians trying to escape fighting in the east Monday, killing "dozens," including children. A senior Ukrainian spokesman said on August 18 that the rebels used Russian-made mortars and rocket launchers to strike the column ferrying the terrified civilians. Many of the dead and injured are children. The spokesman said the convoy of buses was flying white flags as it traveled along the main road away from the city of Luhansk.

Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed in the shelling on August 18, said Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national security council. “The rebels were expecting the convoy and destroyed it entirely. We haven't been able to count the number of victims ... dozens [were killed],” spokesman Andriy Lysenko said, adding that he was unable to provide exact casualty figures. Military spokesman Anatoly Proshin said that evacuees were hit by mortars and Grad rockets. "As a result, there were a huge number of casualties. People were burned alive in the vehicles that were taking them out," Proshin told the Ukrainian Pravda newspaper. Read more ..

Obama's Second Term

The Hill

Attorney General Eric Holder will brief President Obama Monday on a possible federal response to violence in Ferguson, Mo., after another night of clashes prompted Gov. Jay Nixon (D-Mo.) to call in the Missouri National Guard.

Police used tear gas Sunday night on demonstrators protesting the killing of an unarmed black teenager, who a private autopsy report found was shot at least six times. A white police officer, Darren Wilson, has been named as the shooter of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Obama's primary objective in meeting with Holder is to find a way to end the violence in Ferguson, which is now in its second week. Read more ..

Broken Government

TheHill

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) was indicted on felony charges Friday by a grand jury in Austin for allegedly abusing his veto power to force the resignation of a Democratic prosecutor. The grand jury indicted the 2016 presidential hopeful on two felony counts – coercion of public official and abuse of official capacity, according to The Associated Press.

Perry, 64, must turn himself in to the Travis County Jail, where he will be booked, fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken, according to KVUE-TV.

The charges stem from an ethics complaint filed last year by Texans for Public Justice, a left-leaning government watchdog group, claimed that Perry abused his official powers by threatening to veto money for public corruption prosecutors in the state in order to pressure a local district attorney to resign. The public integrity unit is housed in the Travis County district attorney's office. Perry called for the resignation of District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg after she was arrested and pled guilty in April 2013 to drunken driving. Read more ..

Crisis in Central Europe

Cutting Edge Contributor

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on August 15 that Ukrainian forces have destroyed substantial part of a Russian column of armored personnel carriers that crossed into Ukrainian territory from Russia. The Ukrainian presidential press service said that Poroshenko told British Prime Minister David Cameron that "a significant part of the equipment" had been destroyed by Ukrainian artillery.

Ukrainian border guards and customs officers had crossed today into Russia to inspect a convoy of more than 250 trucks. Russia says the trucks were carrying water, food, and other aid for people in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists. Western officials and media had expressed concern that the aid convoy was a mere pretext for a military incursion. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

A fragile ceasefire extension between Hamas and Israel entered its second day on Friday as the two sides in the Gaza conflict ponder Egyptian-mediated efforts to secure a lasting peace.

Deputy chief of Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nahalla, told Friday morning the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that "the war is behind us. At this point we have no choice but to reach an agreement."

On Thursday Nahalla said a permanent deal with Israel is near, adding the agreement will include a guarantee to lift the blockade over Gaza. Nahalla said the two sides agreed on the openings of the crossings, easing the restrictions on material import into Gaza, the expansion of the limited fishing zone around the Strip and the dismantling of the security "perimeter" maintained by Israel along the border. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

8:00 AM ET August 14, 2014. A shaky Israel-Hamas was tested by an exchange of fire between terrorists in Gaza and Israel's military overnight. Israeli jets struck rocket launch sites and a terrorist base in the Gaza Strip shortly after midnight as a response to rocket attacks on southern Israel last night. This did not stop an apparent cease-fire extension from coming into effect at 12:00 a.m, which both sides accepted. - Jerusalem Post.

7:55 AM ET August 14, 2014. According to the head of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, Azzam al-Ahmed of Fatah, Israel and Palestinian factions agreed to extend a three-day Gaza truce an additional five days. Shortly after Ahmed's announcement two rockets fired from Gaza landed in open areas of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and another landed in the Eshkol Regional Council. The Iron Dome intercepted one rocket. - Jerusalem Post.

11:00 AM ET August 13, 2014. Palestinians in the West Bank town of Nablus reported early Monday that the IDF killed a suspected terrorist. The IDF the army surrounded the home belonging to the wanted Palestinians. When the Palestinian fired a shot at the IDF, the used a bulldozer and begin destroying parts to compel the suspect to surrender. The suspect died. - Israeli Army radio

07:14 AM ET August 13, 2014. In a BBC interview, former Israeli president Shimon Peres called on the international community to oppose Hamas’s presence in Gaza and to strip the Islamist group of its armaments. “The world needs to decide whether it’s ready for a terrorist state in Gaza or not,” Peres said. “Reconciling with terrorism in Gaza will be a tragedy for the Middle East and the entire world. Israel wants peace and believes in negotiations while Hamas –both philosophically and practically – proves that it is opposed to peace, opposed to talks, and in favor of terrorism.” He urged world leaders to ratify a document that would mandate the demilitarization of Gaza and install Palestinian AuthorityPresident Mahmoud Abbas as Gaza's ruler. -- i24NewsRead more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

8:20 PM ET August 12, 2014. Hamas claims no progress has been made in the Cairo talks and that the group will decide tomorrow on next steps. - i24News

8:17 PM ET August 12, 2014. Israel's cabinet meeting has been canceled due to gaps between both sides' demands in the Cairo negotiations. - i24News

8:15 AM ET August 12, 2014. Prime Minister Netanyahu convened a security cabinet meeting over developments in the Cairo ceasefire talks. The meeting could herald the beginning of an agreement with the Palestinians for a long-term truce, although some of the ministers are expected to oppose the deal, which reportedly does not meet Israel's key demands. - i24News

7:45 PM ET August 12, 2014. Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman said that Israel's priority should be getting rid of Hamas before widening its diplomatic efforts. Lieberman said "as long as Hamas is strong on the ground, controls Gaza, and is popular in Judea and Samaria, a diplomatic process is simply impossible." -- Jerusalem Post.

Israel's Minister of Economics Naftali Bennet of the Jewish Home Party likened Israel's capitulation to Hamas demands to paying "protection" to mafia gangsters. According to an unconfirmed report in Ynet, Israel has tentatively agreed to transfer money to pay Hamas salaries through a third party. This is a formula of 'quiet in exchange for money for the terrorists,'" said Bennett. "We can't fight Hamas with one hand and sponsor it with the other."

The Knesset's Finance Committee has voted in favor of adding $949 million (3.3 billion shekels) to the Defense budget to make up for the expenses of the Gaza war. Cuts will thus be made in public transportation projects, water development and earthquake preparedness. During the debate Labor MK Stav Shafir was thrown out of the meeting after representatives of the finance ministry refused to answer her questions on the destination of the funds, citing security concerns. The precise purpose of the funds will be debated in a closed-door session of the committee.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomed a group of 110 Jewish youths from the US and Canada who came to enlist in the IDF. Thanking them, he said "Your presence here today lends us strength. With your help we feel the warm embrace of US and Canadian Jewry."

A report in Egypt's Al-Quds says the current ceasefire may be extended by a further 72 hours in order to overcome the gaps between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations. The Palestinians had refused to discuss the fate of the bodies of Israeli soldiers left behind in Gaza and that they would be debated in separate talks. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu-Marzouk says Cairo talks on long-term ceasefire are very serious. "We are facing difficult negotiations. The first ceasefire passed without any significant achievements. This is the second and final ceasefire. Things are clearly serious now. What's needed is for the delegation to achieve what the Palestinian people strive for," he told reporters in Cairo.

The Palestinians in Cairo rejected an Israeli proposal to allow a seaport to be built in Gaza in exchange for a demilitarization of the Strip. The offer was reportedly rejected, with a representative of the Islamic Jihad saying that the groups will only agree to disarm if Israel does. - agencies.

Israel is reportedly considering to expand the fishing perimeter for the Gaza Strip from three to six naval miles (with a possible future expansion to 12 miles, as Hamas demands); more construction materials permitted into the Strip and raising the number of Gaza entry permits issued monthly up to 5,000.

A senior member of the Palestinian delegation to Cairo told the Ma'an news agency that Hamas "does not oppose" that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will control the border crossings to Gaza. It was also reported that the Palestinian Authority will be tasked with the rebuilding of Gaza.

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted the UNHCR (the United Nations Refugee Agency) for its anti-Israel bias and says "Israel cannot expect justice" from the organization. “When the decision about the creation of the committee was made on July 23, the prime minister and Foreign Ministry announced that the Human Rights Council had long ago become the Terrorists’ Rights Council, a kangaroo court in which the results of its ‘investigations’ can be predicted in advanced," the ministry said.

Hamas' armed wing -- the al-Qassam Brigades -- says it is willing to give Israel information regarding the fates of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin in exchange for the names of all the Palestinians who collaborated with Israel during its military campaigns in the West Bank and Gaza, Al-Jazeera reports. - i24News, Haaretz, BBC.

The Yazidi Genocide

Telegraph

On the dry mountain, the Yazidis fight with the goats for the remaining water. In the distance, the lights of Islamic State checkpoints loom menacingly.

On Sunday, those stuck behind Islamic State lines began reporting the group's latest slaughter: hundreds of members of their arcane but colourful sect massacred for refusing to convert to Islam.

On the mountain, the rumours from their relatives only added to the sense of panic and despair. One man, the only news reporter on Mount Sinjar, told me that jihadists had stormed through his village, killing every adult, healthy male. Others talked of hundreds of women being abducted. Reports came in elsewhere of women and children being buried alive.

Meanwhile, the survivors on the mountain were fighting off thirst and disease. There is no other way to put this: the thousands of people left on this mountainside are covered in goat droppings and have no water to drink, let alone to wash it off. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

10:05 AM ET August 11, 2014. No rockets have been fired at Israel since midnight Israel time. Hamas leaders says goal of talks is to see the lifting of the Gaza blockade. An Israeli delegation has landed in Cairo. -agencies

8:40 AM ET August 11, 2014. The IDF admits making a mistake in urging residents of southern Israel to return home during the previous 3-day ceasefire, which prompted Gazan rocket attacks. Maj.-Gen Sami Turgeman told the residents that the security situation in the south was about to change either through understandings with Palestinian factions or through the expansion of the military operation. He said that in any case, the situation now is better than it was before the ground operation because the IDF had managed to neutralize the Hamas tunnels. -Times of Israel

7:10 AM ET August 11, 2014. Palestinian Sawa news agency reported that salaries were paid to all members of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, and the salaries of government officials in the Strip were expected to be paid as well. Hamas demanded payment of the salaries as one of the conditions for a ceasefire with Israel. -Sawa

6:17 AM ET August 11, 2014. A wanted Palestinian man was shot dead in a gunbattle with IDF troops who came to arrest him at a refugee camp near Nablus. Zakaria Al Akra resisted arrest, and opened on soldiers, who proceeded to fire back. Five people, including Al-Akra's parents and younger siblings were injured in the incident. -Jerusalem PostRead more ..

The Yazidi Genocide

Reuters

Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, burying some of their victims alive and kidnapping hundreds of women, a Baghdad government minister said on Sunday.

The insurgents' advance through northern Iraq has forced tens of thousands to flee, threatened the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region and provoked the first U.S. air strikes in the area since Washington withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011.

Iraq's human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Reuters that he had evidence that the Sunni militants had thrown the Yazidi dead into mass graves, adding that some of those buried alive were women and children. About 300 women had been forced into slavery, he said. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

6:48 PM ET August 10, 2014. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators accepted Egypt’s call for a new 72-hour cease-fire in Gaza to commence one minute after midnight on August 11. Egyptian-mediated negotiations toward a more durable solution for Gaza are to be resumed.The Israeli government accepted the Egyptian cease-fire request. Azzam al-Ahmad, the lead Palestinian negotiator in Cairo, said the delegation, which includes Hamas, had notified the Egyptians “that we agreed on the cease-fire based on the Egyptian statement.”The last cease-fire expired on August 8, when Hamas fired rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to resume its airstrikes. -- NYT

7:00 AM ET August 10, 2014. Code Red sirens sounded in Sderot and surrounding communities, well as Ashkelon and Eshkol. There were no reports of injuries or damage. -Times of Israel

6:10 AM ET August 10, 2014. Palestinian negotiators will remain in Cairo for a meeting with the Arab League on August 11 to discuss the Gaza crisis. However, the Palestinian delegation had said it was likely to abandon the talks today unless Israel returns to the table without pre-conditions. Prime Minister Netanyahu had said today that Israel would stay away from the Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas as long as Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip continued. "Israel will not negotiate under fire," Netanyahu said at the weekly meeting of his cabinet. Foreign Minister Liberman said that the time had come for Israel to topple Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. "The only thing left to do is defeat Hamas, clean up the territory and get out as quickly as possible." Egypt had reportedly proposed a compromised offer to the Palestinians and Israel that includes a cease-fire in Gaza and the opening of border crossings between the enclave and the Jewish state, according to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. The discussion will be scheduled regarding the controversial demands of the parties only after tensions are eased. -agenciesRead more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

8:17 AM ET August 9, 2014. Ashkelon Regional Council, as well as other Gaz frontier areas, hear rocket sirens. Israeli Police cancels leftist demonstration over security situation, following Home Front Command instructions. The demo was to take place this evening at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. Rockets explode near a Negev community, Sha'ar Henegev and Eshkol, hear the Gaza border, as sirens wail throughout southern Israel. IDF confirms that two Palestinian militants who were riding a motorcycle in central Gaza were hit, along with 30 other sites since midnight. Ma'an wire service said three bodies were recovered from underneath rubble in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli air force has struck over 100 targets in Gaza in last 24 hours.

4:10 AM ET August 9, 2014. Following Code Red siren alerts, rockets landed outside the Eshkol community and Sha'ar Hanegeve Regional Council. The Israeli air forces struck an agricultural field early today near Gaza City. Israel struck two mosques overnight in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and another in the Zeitoun neighborhood.

3:46 AM ET August 9, 2014. Two homes in Beit Lahiya and Gaza City were hit overnight. More than 15,000 Muslim Brotherhood supporters gathered at a pro-Hamas rally in Jordan's capital yesterday. Many chanted "death to Israel" and urging the militant Palestinian group to step up rocket salvos against Israeli towns and cities. The evening rally, the largest such protest in Amman in years, saw scores of masked youths dressed in the uniform of Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, stage a mock military parade to the cheers of a flag-waving crowd. Expressing hope that a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will soon emerge, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters on August 8 "Our hope is that the parties will agree to an extension of the ceasefire in the coming hours." -- Jerusalem Post, AFP, Ma'an news services

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

6:00 AM ET August 8, 2014. The Israeli Defense Forces responded with new airstrikes on Hamas targets shortly before 11:00 AM local time as retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel which broke the three-day truce that expired earlier on the same day. Israeli Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya'alon had ordered a forceful response to the renewed Hamas rocket attacks. Israeli troops remain poised along the Gaza frontier, even after the IDF had staged a pull-out from the Gaza Strip before the cease-fire was announced on August 5. - Jerusalem Post and i24News

5:28 AM ET August 8, 2014. Operation Protective Edge has now entered its 32nd day. Security restrictions on southern Israel due to the resumption in rocket fire from Gaza were imposed by security officials. A building in the Sdot Negev Regional Council sustained a direct hit by a barrage of six rockets fired from Gaza, causing light injury to one person, while four other rockets exploded outside a community in the region in an open areas. Two people were injured by a rocket in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A Gazan rocket hit an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries or damage. A rocket blast in Sha'ar Hanegev damaged a community's security fence and the rocket's shrapnel, as well as the force of the blast, caused damage to several houses. There were no injuries reported. Islamic Jihad took credit for the barrage of rockets fired at Israel. Army radio also reported that Gazan residents near the border are fleeing their homes once again, shortly after returning. --agenciesRead more ..

Genocide

I will not be silent as the world was a generation ago. Christians, Yazidis, and Shia are being mass slaughtered, mass beheaded for public display, and mass shot in ditches by Sunni Islamic extremists--ISIS in Iraq.

The Ebola Outbreak

Israel21c

As the most severe Ebola epidemic on record spreads through central Africa, infecting and killing hundreds of citizens and foreign aid workers, and raising the specter of outbreaks all over the world, an Israeli research team is working with survivors to develop antibodies against the lethal virus.

Dr. Leslie Lobel tells ISRAEL21c that he and fellow principal investigator Dr. Victoria Yavelsky have spent many years studying native immunity to Ebola and another equally lethal Equatorial African virus, Marburg, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Center for Emerging Diseases, Tropical Diseases and AIDS.

Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever, is one of the deadliest viruses in the world. It kills up to 90 percent of its victims, while Marburg, another hemorrhagic fever, kills up to 88%.Ebola can be spread through sweat and saliva and there is no vaccine or cure. In the latest outbreak, the worst ever, more than 670 people have died, including Americans. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge News Contributors

8:30 AM ET August 6,2014. The Israeli army released 30,000 reservists called up during Operation Protective Edge. 55,000 reservists are left in the areas bordering with Gaza.

Israel's Foreign Ministry has reportedly recommended that Israel not to cooperate with a UN Human Rights Council investigation into Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip. “The committee decided on by the Council will be formed and will write a report, but if a committee is formed relying on the automatic anti-Israel majority, then we need to ask if Israel needs to cooperate,” a ministry source told Ynet. “We didn’t cooperate with Goldstone and it disappeared from the world.” Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge News Contributors

7:37 PM ET August 5, 2014. Egyptian delegates have suggested to Israeli and Palestinian envoys in Cairo for indirect negotiations to extend the current 72-hour cease-fire to 120 hours. - Jerusalem Post.

7:30 PM ET August 5, 2014. SecState Kerry, in a BBC interview, urged Israel and the Palestinians to utilize the temporary cease-fire in Gaza and ensuing indirect diplomatic negotiations in Egypt to reach talks regarding a "bigger, broader approach to a two-state solution." -- Jerusalem Post.

7:25 PM ET August 5, 2014. "Disarming Palestinian resistance will not be negotiated during indirect [cease-fire] talks in Cairo," Islamic Jihad official said following the group's claim of 'victory': "Despite the pain, [the] resistance has made great achievement," deputy head Ziad al Nakhaleh says. -Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says in a speech, "Military victory will lead to lifting of siege on Gaza Strip." - Jerusalem Post.Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributors

12:30AM ET August 5, 2014. Minutes prior to the cease-fire, Gaza militants fired a series of rockets into Israel and Israel struck back hitting targets in Gaza with tank and ship artillery.

4:06 PM ET August 4, 2014. According to CNN, Egypt has arranged for an unconditional 72 hour ceasefire that Hamas has agreed to. Mark Regev, the Prime Minister's spokesperson told a reporter that calm will be met with calm.

3:43 PM ET August 4, 2014. Israel is considering pulling out from Gaza without a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. Fox News

Israel already has been drawing down its ground operation since the weekend, but has kept up heavy aerial, offshore and artillery bombardments of the strip. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor.

11:59 AM ET August 3, 2014. Israel is withdrawing the bulk of its ground forces from Gaza. Analysts say that PM Netanyahu and advisors now understand the difference between Palestinian leader Abbas and the Hamas organization. The next steps, conclude Israeli analysts, depend on Hamas. Palestinian delegation in Cairo will present a list of demands while meeting with Egyptian representatives today. Among these: a ceasefire and IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip; removing the blockade over Gaza and opening fishing zones; releasing the Palestinian freed under the Shalit deal, and imprisoned again, and releasing the prisoners as discussed in the last peace talks; and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

A U.S. delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo, as well as former British PM Blair. Egypt's Foreign Minister Shukri says the Egyptian initiative will lead to negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which will address the demands and needs of the Palestinians in Gaza, and will prevent military escalation in the future. In a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart in Cairo, Shukri condemned Israeli military actions, which caused an "unacceptable casualty rate." -- HaaretzRead more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

5:05 PM ET August 2, 2014. The IAF struck 4 terrorists in southern Gaza Strip. Rocket sirens resume on the frontier. 84 rockets and mortar rounds were fired into Israel. Six were intercepted by Iron Dome. A civilian was wounded in Eshkol.

5:00 PM ET August 2, 2014. Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid thanked SecState Kerry and the U.S. Senate for providing $225 million in emergency funding for Iron Dome. He said Israel deeply values strategic partnership with the U.S. Kerry said the U.S. will do everything in its power to help Israel track the missing Israeli officer.

Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the Obama administration as "terrific" in its support of Israel. Netanyahu also hailed SecState Kerry for his "untiring efforts," and President Obama for statements condemning Hamas. He also thanked the U.S. for the "tremendous support" and its agreement to fund the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Netanyahu characterized as "incorrect" those media reports that he had chastised the American ambassador to Israel. Netanyahu said he carefully weighs all risks and dangers before deciding on military operations. "I'm committed to protect soldiers and civilians." Hamas will pay "an intolerable price" if it continues to launch rockets against Israel, he said. Netanyahu said that Israel will ensure security on all of its borders. He said that he was committed to finding "a long-term solution" that would restore calm to Israel's frontier communities. -- Jerusalem Post. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

8:36 PM ET August 1, 2014. The Hamas military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, they have no information regarding the fate of Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who may have been taken in captivity on the morning of August 1. Goldin is officially regarded as missing. "We have lost touch with one of our squads fighting in the vicinity," the statement said, "it is possible they, together with the soldier, were killed."

8:30 PM ET August 1, 2014. At least 29 Palestinians were killed in strikes in southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources. i24News. President Obama has demanded the release of a missing Israeli soldier.

2:57 PM ET August 1, 2014. A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes in the northern West Bank, AFP reports, citing "security sources." Tamer Smour, 22, was hit by a live bullet in the chest in Tulkarem.

2:50 PM ET August 1, 2014. "Hamas will bear consequences. Israel will take all necessary actions against those who call to destroy it," said Israeli PM Netanyahu to Kerry. Israel's Security Cabinet met this afternoon. -- i24News.

11:55 AM ET August 1, 2014. Kerry calls for immediate, unconditional release of captured IDF soldier. Secretary of State John Kerry is condemning an "outrageous" violation by Palestinian militants of the Gaza ceasefire he helped to broker. Kerry is demanding the immediate release of an Israeli soldier apparently abducted by the radical Hamas movement. Kerry released a statement saying the militant attack was an affront to the assurances that both sides had given to the United Nations about respecting the ceasefire. The US secretary of state is demanding that Hamas move to 'immediately and unconditionally release' 2nd-Lt. Hadar Goldin, captured in an attack that also killed two Israeli soldiers. Kerry also calls on "those with influence over Hamas to reinforce this message." -Times of Israel

7:00 AM ET August 1, 2014. Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai confirms a suspected kidnapping of a Givati Brigade's soldier in Gaza. Siren warning of incoming rockets activated in the city of BeerSheba. One rocket intercepted. at least 12 rockets fired into Israel since 0700GMT. --i24News

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributors

5:45 PM ET July 31, 2014. US and UN Announce Deal on Gaza Cease-Fire, The United States and United Nations are announcing that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a humanitarian cease-fire to start Friday morning for 72 hours. All parties have agreed to it and it will begin 1AM Eastern time, 8AM in Israel. --ABC News

2:35 PM ET July 31, 2014. Police warned the public against travelling to communities near the Gaza, following a mortar attack in the Eshkol Regional Council that left eight hurt. -- Jerusalem Post.Read more ..

The Battle for Iraq

Cutting Edge Contributor

Syriac Orthodox Bishop George Saliba of Mount Lebanon and Tripoli denounced Muslims as enemies of Jesus, while accusing them of a long history of violence and persecution of Christians. "What is happening in Iraq is a strange thing, but it is normal for Muslims, because they have never treated Christians well, and they have always held an offensive and defaming stand against Christians," said Bishop Saliba according to Elnashra.com "We are not calling for armament and war; we don't have the capacities," Saliba said. "We used to live and coexist with Muslims, but then they revealed their canines [teeth]."

The bishop accused Muslims of centuries of violence against Christians, while he condemned the attacks on the Christians of Iraqi Mosul. "[They don't] have the right to storm houses, steal and attack the honor of Christians," Saliba said. "Most Muslims do this, the Ottomans killed us and after that the ruling nation-states understood the circumstances but always gave advantage to the Muslims." Saliba also said Muslims are raised to have bad feelings about Christians, saying "Islam has never changed, and Muslims have been educated on the bad treatment of Christians."

"We are not surprised by these behaviors, but we [put hopes] on some Muslims brothers who do not support such behaviors, despite them being a minority." Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

5:20 PM ET July 30, 2014. Three IDF soldiers were killed on Wednesday in Gaza in an explosion at a booby-trapped UNRWA health clinic that housed the opening of a tunnel, the IDF's Gaza Division commander, Brig. Gen. Micky Edelstein, said. --Times of Israel

2:01 PM ET July 30, 2014. An Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian officials a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, airport officials say. Cairo, a key mediator in truce negotiations between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, was also expected to host a Palestinian delegation later this week. The Cairo airport official does not identify the two-member Israeli delegation, but says they were scheduled to depart after a visit of several hours, in which they would discuss proposals for a truce. – AFP

12:19 pM ET July 30, 2014. The United States is condemning the shelling of a UN school in the Gaza Strip that was sheltering displaced Palestinians. The US did not say who was responsible for shelling the school. Gaza officials say Israel shelled the school, killing 15 and wounding 90. The Israeli military says it fired back after soldiers were targeted by mortar rounds launched from the vicinity of the school. White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan says the US is also "extremely concerned" that thousands of Palestinians aren’t safe in UN-designated shelters in Gaza. Meehan says the US also condemns those responsible for hiding weapons in UN facilities in Gaza. She says the escalation shows the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible. – APRead more ..

Cutting Edge Contributor

Nachman Shai, Deputy Speaker and oppositon leader in the Knesset says he supports Netanyahu in this action, but would move afterwards to establishing a real peace with the Palestinians.

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told Wolf Blitzer that a two state solution is the only route to peace. He said that Israel began this after the three Israeli boys were killed and never showed proof that Hamas did this.

The United Nations just said that they uncovered another cache of weapons in a United Nations school. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

7:45 PM ET July 28, 2014. Hamas has reportedly executed, without trial, over 30 alleged collaborators with Israel in the past few days. Palestinian media report that that the suspects were caught in the Shejaiya neighborhood in northern Gaza. Among the evidence for their collaboration were telephones with SIM cards from an Israeli cell phone provider. Hamas has come under fire from human rights groups for executing suspected collaborators without a trial. Sometimes Gazans are accused of being collaborators based on mere rumor and at other times those who fall out of favor with Hamas are deemed collaborators and executed. Palestinian daily Al-Quds last week reported that collaborators were spotted firing tracer bullets near homes that Israel wanted to target, among other suspicious activity. -- i24News

6:10 PM ET July 28 2014. Israel has been using illumination rounds this evening to light up the sky over Gaza. According to CNN, some of those illumination round canisters have fallen into a U.N. school. These rounds have no explosive heads on them. Israel's Lt. Col. Peter Lerner has said that the incursions into Israel today by Hamas militants were met with force and the militants were killed.

5:30 PM ET July 28 2014. Three children were among 10 people killed in Israeli raids across Gaza, said PA spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra. Israel announced that five of its troops were killed today. The IDF struck central and southern Gaza as its air forces began bombing the Khan Yunis enclave following a Palestinian mortar attack on southern Israel. - i24 News. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Times of Israel

When The Times of Israel’s Avi Issacharoff first reported the content of John Kerry’s ceasefire proposal on Friday afternoon, I wondered if something had gotten lost in translation. It seemed inconceivable that the American secretary of state would have drafted an initiative that, as a priority, did not require the dismantling of Hamas’s rocket arsenal and network of tunnels dug under the Israeli border. Yet the reported text did not address these issues at all, nor call for the demilitarization of Gaza.

It seemed inconceivable that the secretary’s initiative would specify the need to address Hamas’s demands for a lifting of the siege of Gaza, as though Hamas were a legitimate injured party acting in the interests of the people of Gaza — rather than the terror group that violently seized control of the Strip in 2007, diverted Gaza’s resources to its war effort against Israel, and could be relied upon to exploit any lifting of the “siege” in order to import yet more devastating weaponry with which to kill Israelis. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

11:00 AM ET July 27. Israeli PM Netanyahu told American media that Hamas had violated a ceasefire that it had itself called for. "They are violating their own ceasefire. Under these circumstances, Israel will do what it must do to defend its people," Netanyahu told CNN. --Martin Barillas

On CBS, Netanyahu said Israel would not allow "a ruthless terror organisation... to decide when it's convenient for them to stop for a moment, rearm, and continue firing on our citizens and our people." -- i24News.

10:55 AM ET July 27. Hamas agreed to halt firing from 1100 GMT in response to a UN request. However, explosions could still be heard at that time. -- AFP

10:50 AM ET July 27. Netanyahu said that Israel would continue operations to dismantle Hamas' cross-border tunnel network and to destroy its stocks of rockets. "I'm not going to talk about specific military operation," he said. "Israel is doing what any other country would do and the US would do if any percent of your country were under fire and you have 60 or 90 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. I would say we want to stop firing rockets for sure. We want to dismantle the tunnel, the terror tunnel network we uncovered. I don't know if we'll have 100 percent success," he said. "Our soldiers are dealing with it now." He insisted Israel does not deliberately target Palestinian civilians. -- CNNRead more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

10:23 AM ET July 26, 2014. An Israeli army officer and two soldiers were killed overnight in the Gaza Strip. So far, 40 IDF soldiers and officers were killed since Operation Protective Edge was launched.

10:20 AM ET July 26, 2014. High Court of France confirms ban on pro-Palestinian protests following Paris violence this week. Air France and KLM renew flights to Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport. Turkey also lifted its ban.

10:05 AM ET July 26, 2014. Palestinian Health Ministry puts Gaza death toll at above 1,000 since the beginning of hostilities; 5870 wounded. At least 12 Palestinians - including 4 children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, says Palestinian Health Ministry reports. They were apparently refugees from the north of the Strip who evacuated south.

10:00 AM ET July 26, 2014. Palestinians uncover 35 bodies buried in the rubble across Gaza today, raising the death toll of Palestinians to over 900. Bodies were retrieved in the three hours since a humanitarian truce came into effect.

09:55 AM ET July 26, 2014. Two Palestinian demonstrators killed in the West Bank during clashes with Israeli police. Hussam Abd Elghani Yassin, the grandson of Ahmed Yassin, one of the founders and the spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed overnight. Yassin was killed in a targeted Israeli Air Force airstrike in 2004. -- i24 News. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

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2:17 PM ET July 25, 2014. Overnight, the IDF targeted approximately 90 terror sites in Gaza. Among them were concealed rocket launchers and surveillance posts. The IDF detained two militants who were emerged from an access shaft of a tunnel. IDF soldiers identified a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt in the southern Gaza Strip. They also located two adjacent tunnel access shafts. Hamas militants fired anti-tank missiles at IDF soldiers from within the Al-Wafa hospital compound, injuring four soldiers, one of them severely. -- i24News

2:15 PM ET July 25, 2014.Israeli soldiers have unearthed 63 shafts, 31 tunnels used for terror, 11 of which were subsequently destroyed. According to the IDF, Israel struck 3,540 terror targets since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8. The Palestinians report that more than 800 people were killed since the beginning of the operation. -- i24News.

8:15 AM ET July 25, 2014. Clashes that broke out overnight in East Jerusalem continued as Israeli police barred Palestinian men under 50 from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque today, the last Friday of Ramadan, a day when the site is typically packed with worshipers. One Palestinian teenager was wounded and taken to hospital. Confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli police are ongoing at Hatta Gate and Council Gate, two of the entrances to the mosque. Hamas leaders are calling for a third intifada as thousands of Palestinians marched from Ramallah to Jerusalem. In the Holy City, two Palestinians were killed and 40 arrested. -- Ma'an news agency and The Telegraph. Read more ..

The Battle for Baghdad

Cutting Edge Contributor

The UN says militant Islamist group Isis, the so-called Islamic State, has ordered all women and girls in Mosul, northern Iraq, to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). The procedure involves the surgical removal of the clitoris and, in some cases, the labia of the victims. According to a BBC report, Jacqueline Badcock of the United Nations said that the religious edict applied to females between the ages of 11 and 46.

Badcock expressed grave concern over what she termed an unprecedented fatwa decree issued by the Islamists who control the city. Badcock, who is the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, told reporters via videolink from Irbil that the practice "is something very new for Iraq... and does need to be addressed." "This is not the will of Iraqi people, or the women of Iraq in these vulnerable areas covered by the terrorists," she added. Read more ..

The Battle for Baghdad

Cutting Edge Contributor

On July 20, the self-proclaimed "Islamic Caliphate" took possession of the ancient Syrian Catholic monastery of Mar Behnam, ten minutes from the city of Qaraqosh.

Syrian Catholic Archbishop Yohanna Petros Moshe of Mosul told the Fides news agency that armed Islamist militiamen of the Caliphate "imposed on the three monks and a few families living in the monastery to go away and leave the keys." Christians fear that the Islamists will desecrate and vandalize the monastery in much the same way they have done so at other Christian sites as well as places revered by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam such as the tomb of the Prophet Jonah.

Mosul has been emptied of Christians ever since they received word from the Islamists on July 18 that they must leave, convert to Islam or face death. Christians of Qaraqosh, a city only a few kilometers from Mar Behnam, are increasingly alarmed. Christian residential and business properties were marked by the insurgents so as to identify them for dispossession by Muslims once the owners have fled. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributor

9:04 AM ET July 24, 2014. The IDF is now focusing on mapping out and destroying the terror tunnels they have uncovered. So far, 31 tunnels have been uncovered and nine have been destroyed. A major tunnel was uncovered yesterday, containing maps, IDF uniforms, and weaponry for an imminent attack. In one incident, a Combat Engineers unit spotted terrorists emerging from a tunnel. They called in air support and the cell was hit. Over the past 24 hours IDF ground forces have arrested 150 terrorist in the Gaza Strip, including one dressed in an IDF uniform. Over 200 terrorists were killed since the beginning of the ground operation. Overnight, the IDF attacked 35 terror targets, bringing the total to some 3,400 terror objective targeted by the IDF. -Tazpit

6:14 AM ET July 24, 2014. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said today, "The US, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt have been working for the last five days to ensure an immediate cease-fire," adding Turkey was in constant contact with Palestinian leaders.6:10 AM ET July 24, 2014. Rocket sirens heard in Ashkelon, Kfar Saba, Netivot, Petah Tikva, Sderot, the Sharon region, and communities near Gaza. Rocket shrapnel land in Tel Aviv. Iron Dome intercepts 6 missiles. Rocket barrage fired from Gaza reaches as far as Emek Hefer and Binyamina, while explosions were heard throughout Tel Aviv area. Sirens heard in Ramat Gan, Givatayim, and Herzliya. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

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2:33 PM ET July 23, 2014. Secretary Kerry met with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Palestinian President Abbas, and UN Sec. Gen Ban today as hopes sore that a ceasefire may ensue. "We have certainly made some steps forward, but there is still work to be done," Kerry said as he met UN chief Ban Ki-Moon for the second time this week. "We are now joining our forces in strength to make a ceasefire as soon as possible," Ban said. Kerry said to Palestinians following a meeting with Abbas, "We have in the last 24 hours made some progress in moving toward that goal." He later returned to Cairo to continue negotiations -- i24 News.

2:15 PM ET July 23, 2014. While Sec. Kerry confered with political leaders about peace, Islamist Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri hailed the suspension of Tel Aviv flights by many world airlines as a "great victory." Said Abu Zuhri, "The success of Hamas in closing Israeli airspace is a great victory for the resistance, and is the crown of Israel's failure." The FAA had placed a ban on US flights to Israel and renewed the ban for another 24 hours today, citing the "potentially hazardous situation." Its European counterpart advised all carriers to avoid Tel Aviv "until further notice." Netanyahu praised former NYC Mayor Bloomberg as a man of "principle" for defying the ban by flying to Israel. The fighting has so far claimed the lives of 685 Gazans, 34 Israelis and a foreign worker. -- i24News.

2:14 PM ET July 23, 2014. Israeli military field hospitals continue to treat wounded Gazans. In Gaza City hundreds of women and children have taken refuge inside Saint Prophyrios Greek Orthodox church. "Many of them, their houses are destroyed. Many people have been injured or killed. So we try to help these people," said Archbishop Alexios, one of Gaza's tiny community of 1,500 Christians. --i24 News.

2:13 PM ET July 23, 2014. UN rights chief Navi Pillay condemned Israel and Hamas at an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Pillay said Israeli attacks on civilians, among them children, "could amount to war crimes" but also denounced Hamas for its "indiscriminate attacks" on Israeli civilians. The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights said 81.5 percent of the dead were civilians, 24 percent of them children. Of the 3,457 wounded, half were women or children. The UN Human Rights Council voted to launch a probe into Israel's Gaza offensive: the United States was the sole member to vote against, while European countries abstained. -- i24 News.

8:36 AM ET July 23, 2014. After days of incessant terrorist gunfire emanating from the Waffa hospital the IDF has responded. For days terrorists have been using the Waffa hospital in Gaza as a military post, firing small-arms fire and anti-tank rockets at IDF forces. Moreover, the lower levels of the hospital are being used by terror organizations as a command and control center. The IDF has refrained from responding until now. Earlier, the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) approached several international Palestinian organizations and contacted the hospital Director, but to no avail. Today, the fire intensified, and the IDF finally decided to respond attacking the hospital complex with accurate fire. -Tazpit

8:26 AM ET July 23, 2014. The Iron Dome shoots down four rockets, two of them over the southern city of Ashdod -Channel 2.

7:45 AM ET July 23, 2014. The Transportation Ministry and Foreign Ministry are set to send four El Al planes to Turkey tonight to bring home the thousands of stranded Israeli passengers, Ynet reports. -Times of Israel

5:58 AM ET July 23, 2014. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel via air despite an FAA ban. He said that progress had been made towards a cease fire. Before meeting with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, he said: "We have certainly made some steps forward. There is still work to be done." He will also meet with Israeli President Peres and PM Netanyahu. -- The Guardian.Read more ..

9:05 AM ET July 22, 2014. IDF names Oron Shaul as missing soldier presumed killed in Gaza and in the hands of Hamas. --Times of Israel.

8:22 AM ET July 22, 2014. Iraeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told NBC News that Hamas wants to “pile up the bodies” of the Palestinian people to generate sympathy while it fires more rockets. He said that Israel has to defend itself and said Hamas is responsible for the mounting civilian casualties. "They just don’t care," said Netanyahu. "It’s important to make that clear. They are responsible for all the civilian deaths, which we seek to minimize."

8:30 AM ET July 22, 2014. U.S. satellite imagery revealed at least 60 Hamas tunnels leading into Israeli territory. In an incident last week, Hamas terrorists dressed as Israeli soldiers emerged from a tunnel to engage in a deadly firefight. -- Jerusalem Post.

6:30 AM ET July 22, 2014. According to the Lebanese-based Al Mayadeen network, a ceasefire will be signed in Cairo, when Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal arrives there. Under the agreement, the network reported, both sides will stop the fighting and agree on the lifting of the restrictions on Gaza. However, the agreement will not stipulate when the crossings into Gaza will be opened. Even so, Hamas rockets continue to rain down on Israel. Read more ..

Operation Protective Edge

Cutting Edge Contributors

Funeral of Israeli Maj. Amotz Greenberg

4:45 PM ET July 21, 2014. The number of Israel troops killed so far in Operation Protective Edge has reached 25. Seven were killed today. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel had scored "significant achievements" and its operation in Gaza "would be expanded" despite the heavy losses.

Both Secretary John Kerry and UN leader Ban Ki-Moon are expected to arrive in Cairo on July 22 to discuss ceasefire terms with Egyptian leaders. Egyptian public opinion appears to be on the side of Israel in the current conflict. -- i24News and Jerusalem Post.

12:06 PM ET July 21, 2014. Deputy chief of Hamas' politburo Ismail Haniyeh said today that IDF forces were being defeated by the Palestinian resistance at the Gaza border. Haniyeh said the “Palestinian resistance will meet the demands and expectations of the Palestinian people.” Hamas demands must be met, he said, for any truce to prosper. “Our people’s sacrifices are headed to triumph,” he said. -- Ma'an News

9:01 AM ET July 21, 2014. A large explosion in a Sudanese ammunition warehouse last Friday was the result of an Israeli attack targeting weapons intended for Hamas, and not a fire, as claimed by the government, an Arab daily reported. -Times of IsraelRead more ..

4:24 PM ET July 20, 2014. PA President Abbas called for all parties engaged in fighting in Gaza to cease fire, honoring an Egyptian-proposed truce. He condemned IDF operations in the Shejaia district that killed dozens of Palestinians as an "ugly crime," charging that the "perpetrators won't escape punishment." -- Jerusalem Post.

4:14 PM ET July 20, 2014. A ceasefire requested by the Red Cross lasted only 30 minutes as thousands of Gazans fled from deepening conflict. At least 80 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed as IDF ground and air forces fought Hamas in close combat in a Gaza neighborhood in the deadliest day of fighting. ---France24.

2:55 PM ET July 20, 2014. PA President Mahmoud Abbas meets Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal on Sunday in Doha, Qatar to discuss a ceasefire with Israel. An Abbas aide says: “The president will meet Mashaal to discuss ways of reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.” – AFP

1:15 PM ET July 20, 2014. The Iron Dome system has intercepted 36 rockets so far today from a total of 94 projectiles launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli cities throughout the day, according to IDF. -Times of Israel

Operation Protective Edge

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2:23 PM ET July 19, 2014. Egyptian soldiers in north Sinai prevented an aid convoy of activists from reaching the Rafah border crossing with the embattled Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday. An army officer at the Balloza checkpoint, one of many along the desert highway to Rafah stated the security situation in the restive peninsula was too unstable to allow the convoy of 11 buses and 500 activists to pass. There was a brief scuffle between some activists and soldiers but no arrests were made. Egypt usually keeps the crossing closed, citing a counter-insurgency operation against militants in north Sinai, but has allowed entry to Palestinians wounded in the 12-day conflict between Hamas and Israel. - Lebanese Daily Star

1:21 PM ET July 19, 2014. The attackers used grenade launchers and heavy machine guns when they attacked the desert post some 390 miles (630km) west of Cairo, officials said. It is not yet clear who carried out the assault. Militants have intensified a campaign against the security forces since the Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power just over a year ago. -BBC

12:06 PM ET July 19, 2014.

Two IDF soldiers, including an officer, were killed this morning when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory through a tunnel from the central Gaza Strip and ambushed a military vehicle patrolling on the Israeli side of the border. The deaths were the first of soldiers killed by Hamas since Operation Protective Edge began on July 8. This morning, the terrorist cell infiltrated Israeli territory through an underground tunnel, in an apparent attempt to carry out a major attack on one of the nearby communities. The gunmen encountered an IDF patrol and opened fire with machine guns and anti-tank weaponry, killing the two officers, moderately wounding two other soldiers and lightly wounding two more. -agenciesRead more ..

Operation Protective Edge

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6:15 PM ET July 18, 2014.

Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades takes responsibility for latest volley of 10 rockets fired at southern town of Ofakim. Unconfirmed reports say three of the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome. - Times of Israel

5:01 PM ET July 18, 2014.

Israeli drones and helicopters, in addition to ground forces and fighter jets, are firing are on targets in the Gaza Strip. --Sky News

12:34 PM ET July 18, 2014.A fallen IDF soldier was identified as Eitan Barak, 20, from Herzliya. The IDF says he killed at around 3am in the northern part of the Strip. The army is investigating the possibility he was killed by friendly fire. -Ynet

9:26 AM ET July 18, 2014.An IDF soldier was killed in the early hours of Friday and five other soldiers sustained light to moderate wounds in separate incidents. Palestinian officials say that at least 24 Gazans have been killed since the ground operation began, including three children. -Ynet